Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Disabled people hide impairments to stay in work

Current media issues highlighting work problems for disabled people, where 60% have no real jobs and the rest (or at least 50% of the rest in work), feel they face constant threats of the sack and feel discriminated against.

It was no surprise to see deaf people latch on to the SCOPE report (Which is old news and says nothing we did not already know), despite the fact the disability image was a wheelchair, not an Ear image and no deaf people were apparent, and SCOPE did not display diversity of disablements in their latest media interview on SKY. Who can blame them ? given deaf havenever had any easy alliance with disabled, even with deaf who have multiple issues like the deaf-blind etc.

Least of all the concept of disability in regards to deafness. Strange deaf then suggested they are disabled too, when a campaign becomes a media profile, but why look an opportunist gift horse in the mouth ? It is the deaf way of promotion. The constant annoyance within the disability areas are deaf claiming disability when it suits (Mostly to ensure enablement parity, despite re-branding welfare and support, as 'empowerment' which fooled no-one), then defying disability when they run a culture campaign, if it is not hypcoricy what is it ? That will be the subject of ATR's next blog !

What Scope said:

One in two (53%) disabled people have experienced bullying or harassment at work because of their impairments.

Over half (58%) of disabled people feel at risk of losing their jobs and one in two (53%) have experienced bullying or harassment at work because of their impairments, according to new research by disability charity Scope. Ahead of the closing of the Government consultation on work, health and disability, the survey of disabled people has highlighted the issues disabled people face in work and the risk they face falling out of work.

The Government has made a welcome commitment to halving the disability employment gap. Yet the employment gap between disabled people and the public has remained static at nearly 30 percentage points for the past decade.

The research also found that:

One in five (21%) go as far as hiding their disability from employers

One in eight disabled people (13%) have been overlooked for a promotion

One in four (24%) say their current employer is not supportive of their disability.

Catherine, 47, from Yorkshire said:

"I've been disabled for five years and a wheelchair user for three. I had been working for my employer for 13 years when my condition began to affect my work.

“I fought hard not to let it affect my job and got support through Access to Work in order to keep working. I asked for a very minor adjustment to my workload but was told by my employer that I wasn't fit for work, but if I went on sick leave my job would be at risk.”